The present invention concerns a hydrosoluble concentrate obtained from a new emulsifying or hydrosolubilizing phase and from a compound of liquid lipophilic materials of vegetable origin, specifically, essential oils or vegetable oils.
Said concentrate is either used directly after dilution with water, or used as an additive or a supplement to various sanitizing, deodorizing, disinfecting, bactericidal, sterilizing, insecticide, biological activator or other product formulations.
In the field of emulsifiable concentrates containing liquid lipophilic substances, the use of one or more tensio-actives of vegetable origin with non-biodegradable salts of the sulfate, sulfonate, phosphate type is already known, although phosphorates are harmful to the environment.
Moreover, these preparations result in opaque products that are essentially unstable, making them unsuitable for storage.
Thus, these products are not suitable for many industrial applications.
Inventors have devised a hydrosoluble concentrate obtained from a new emulsifying or hydrosolubilizing phase and from a compound of liquid lipophilic materials of vegetable origin, specifically, essential oils or vegetable oils, in concentrate form which can be used immediately after dilution with water.
The following composition is characteristic of the hydrosoluble or emulsionable concentrate:
a compound of at least one, but preferably two, liquid lipophilic materials of vegetable origin, specifically essential oils or vegetable oils;
an emulsifying or hydrosolubilizing mixture containing:
a non-ionic tensio-active originating from or deriving from a vegetable oil;
at least one non-ionic co-tensio-active and/or another anionic tensio-active originating from or deriving from another vegetable oil;
the combination of which with non-hydrosoluble, liquid lipophilic vegetable materials, specifically, essential oils or vegetable oils, renders the latter completely hydrosoluble or emulsifiable, thereby attaining a total stable micro-emulsion type of emulsion after the addition of water.
The non-ionic tensio-active derived from vegetable oil is preferably an ethoxyl vegetable oil.
Similarly, the supplemental anionic tensio-active is preferably derived from another ethoxyl vegetable oil. For example, it may consist of a mixture of alkyl ethoxyl carboxyl salts resulting from an ethoxylation and carboxylation reaction on the vegetable oils.
The present invention results from the five following objectives.
The first objective is to avoid denaturing the base properties and qualities of the lipophilic materials, specifically, essential oils or vegetable oils.
The second objective is to furnish a composition with one or more specific properties supplemental to the properties of the liquid lipophilic materials, specifically, the essential oils.
The third objective is to find an especially simple, quick and effective preparation method for emulsifying liquid lipophilic materials of vegetable origin in an aqueous phase in order to obtain a micro-emulsion which will retain the properties and qualities of the original materials in addition to the properties resulting from mixture with the tensio-actives.
The fourth objective is to use at least one tensio-active component of vegetable origin in relatively high proportions in relation to the other tensio-active component or components, the components being used in large quantities in relation to the non-hydrosoluble, liquid lipophilic materials of vegetable origin to impart their own characteristics; the relative weight proportions between the emulsifying or hydrosolubilizing phase and the compound of lipophilic materials of vegetable origin, specifically, essential oils, may be in the range of at least 2 to 1.
The final objective is essentially ecologicalxe2x80x94to use a low concentration of completely biodegradable vegetable-based substances in a pH-neutral aqueous phase, reflecting absolute and unprecedented concern for environment.
The principal advantage of the invention consists of obtaining simply, quickly, and with maximum efficiency, using liquid lipophilic materials of vegetable origin, i.e., oils known as essential oils or vegetable oils and merely adding water, completely stable micro-emulsions.
A non-exhaustive list of other advantages includes the following:
an aqueous solution with fluid qualities is obtained, which is transparent, isotropic, and completely stable over time throughout a long storage period, even with considerable variations in ambient temperature or changes in physical-chemical usage conditions;
faithful conservation of the qualities and properties of the liquid lipophilic materials of vegetable origin, specifically essential oils or vegetable oils, enhanced with supplemental properties (bactericides, bacteriostats, fungicides, antiseptics, deodorants which suppress the cause of bad odors, oxygenator, oxidizers or reductase(s), antiparasitics, insecticides, cleaners and degreasers, etc.) thanks to the encapsulation of the essential oils or vegetable oils by the molecules in the emulsifying or hydrosolubilizing phase described;
a very low degree of ecotoxicity combined with optimum biodegradability, harmless to humans and animals, due to the use of vegetable-based materials and the appropriate encapsulation of the essential oils or vegetable oils.
In effect, the hydrosolubilizing and emulsifying formulations are biodegradable and the metabolites resulting from the initial decomposition are themselves bio-acceptable, as they are completely biodegradable into natural derivatives. After use, the substance biodegrades in a relatively short period of time from the environmental and ecological point of view.
Furthermore, the formulations are not toxic to ingest, and non-irritating to skin and eyes.
the micro-emulsion of essential oils or vegetable essences in aqueous phase has considerable wetting, detergent and cleaning power;
it is particularly simple, effective and quick to use, requiring no expensive equipment and consuming little energy;
The invention will be described below by using several examples with indications of the proper weight measurements.